Apparatus and method for phase lock loop gain control using unit current sources

ABSTRACT

A gain compensator compensates for the gain variation of a varactor-tuned voltage tuned oscillator (VCO) in a phase lock loop (PLL). The VCO includes a parallel LC circuit having multiple fixed capacitors that can be switched-in or switched-out of the LC circuit according to a capacitor control signal to perform band-select tuning of the VCO. The gain compensator compensates for the variable VCO gain by generating a charge pump reference current that is based on the same capacitor control signal that controls the fixed capacitors in the LC circuit. The gain compensator generates the charge pump reference current by replicating a reference scale current using unit current sources. The number of times the reference scale current is replicated is based on the fixed capacitance that is switched-in to the LC circuit and therefore the frequency band of the PLL. The reference scale current is generated based on a PLL control that specifics certain PLL characteristics such as reference frequency, loop bandwidth, and loop damping. Therefore, the reference pump current can be efficiently optimized for-changing PLL operating conditions, in addition to compensating for variable VCO gain.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/096,154, filed Mar. 30, 2005, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 11/019,451, filed Dec. 23, 2004, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/443,741, filed May 23, 2003(now issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,838,947 B2), which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 09/811,611, filed Mar. 20, 2001 (now issued U.S.Pat. No. 6,583,675 B2).

This application is also a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/019,451, filed Dec. 23, 2004, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 10/443,741, filed May 23, 2003 (now issued U.S.Pat. No. 6,838,947 B2), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.No. 09/811,611, filed Mar. 20, 2001 (now issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,583,675B2).

The above-identified applications are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to gain control in a phase lockloop, and more specifically to phase lock loop gain control using scaledunit current sources.

2. Background Art

Radio frequency (RF) transmitters and receivers perform frequencytranslation by mixing an input signal with a local oscillator (LO)signal.

Preferably, the LO signal should have a frequency spectrum that is asclose to a pure tone as possible in order to maximize system performanceduring the signal mixing operation. The deviation of the LO signal froma pure tone is quantified as phase noise or phase jitter, and isgenerally referred to as spectral purity. In other words, a LO signalwith good spectral purity has low phase noise.

Phase-locked loops (PLLs) are often used in frequency synthesizers togenerate the LO signal. A PLL frequency synthesizer produces an outputsignal, typically a sinewave or square wave, that is a frequencymultiple of an input reference signal. The PLL output signal is also inphase synchronization with the input reference signal. PLLs are feedbackloops, and therefore are susceptible to instability. Therefore, loopstability is a key performance parameter for PLLs, in addition tospectral purity of the output signal.

A resonant-tuned voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) is typicallyutilized in a PLL to generate the PLL output signal. A resonant tunedVCO includes an active device and a resonant LC circuit, where theimpedance of the resonant LC circuit becomes a short or an open at aresonant frequency. When the resonant circuit is connected in parallelwith the active device, a positive feedback path is created in theactive device at the resonant frequency of the LC circuit. The positivefeedback path causes the active device to oscillate at the resonantfrequency of the LC circuit.

The resonant tuned LC circuit typically includes multiple fixedcapacitors that can be switched in or out of the LC circuit, a varactordiode, and at least one inductor. The resonant frequency of the LCcircuit (and therefore the oscillation frequency of the VCO) is tunedvia a coarse tuning mechanism and a fine tuning mechanism. Coarsefrequency tuning (or band-selection) is performed by switching one ormore of the fixed capacitors in the LC circuit. Whereas, fine frequencytuning is performed by changing the voltage across the varactor diode,which produces a capacitance that varies depending on the applied tuningvoltage. Both tuning mechanisms operate by changing the capacitance, andtherefore the resonant frequency of the LC circuit. The varactor tuningrange is slightly larger than one fixed capacitor, and thereforeprovides some overlap between the fixed capacitors.

VCO gain is defined as the VCO frequency shift per unit change in thevaractor tuning voltage. A problem with varactor-tuned VCOs is that theVCO gain verses fixed capacitance is variable. In other words, the VCOfrequency shift verses tuning voltage is dependent on the fixedcapacitance that is switched-in to the LC circuit. The variable VCO gaincreates difficulties when designing a PLL because the entire PLL loopgain, bandwidth, and damping response varies with respect to theoscillator frequency. This in turn makes it difficult to optimize theoutput phase noise and reduces overall spectral purity. Therefore, it isdesirable to compensate for the variable VCO gain, in order to maintainthe overall PLL gain at a desired optimum value.

In addition to the VCO gain, it is desirable to adjust or tune other PLLcharacteristics, such as loop bandwidth, reference frequency, anddamping factor, without having to tune or replace PLL components.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The gain compensator invention compensates for gain variation in avaractor-tuned VCO in order to maintain the overall PLL gain at adesired level over frequency. The VCO includes a LC circuit that hasmultiple fixed capacitors that are arranged in parallel with thevaractor diode and the active portion of the VCO. The fixed capacitorsare switched-in to the LC circuit by corresponding capacitor controlsignals. Coarse frequency tuning (also called band-select tuning) isperformed by adding or subtracting one or more of the fixed capacitorsto the LC circuit according to the capacitor control signal. Finefrequency tuning is performed by adjusting the tuning voltage on thevaractor diode, where the VCO gain is defined as the frequency shift perunit change in varactor tuning voltage. VCO gain varies with the fixedcapacitance that is switched-in to the LC circuit, and therefore changeswith band-select tuning of the VCO. The gain compensator compensates forthe variable VCO gain by generating a reference charge pump current forthe PLL based on information that is carried in the capacitor controlsignal. Therefore, the gain compensator is able to simultaneously adjustthe charge pump current to maintain an overall flat PLL gain as fixedcapacitors are incrementally added to (or subtracted from) the LCcircuit.

The gain compensator includes one or more cells that each correspond toa particular VCO that can be switched into the PLL at a given time. AVCO control signal selects a particular VCO for the PLL based onfrequency, and also activates the appropriate cell. Each cell includes aplurality of unit current sources, where each unit current sourcesubstantially replicates (or copies) a pre-defined reference scalecurrent. The unit current sources are arranged into one or more groups,where each group corresponds to a fixed capacitor in the LC circuit Eachgroup of unit current generates a portion of the total pump current whenthe corresponding capacitor is switched-in to the LC circuit. The numberof unit current sources in each group is determined to compensate forthe variable VCO gain that occurs when the corresponding fixed capacitoris switched-in to the LC circuit. Each group of unit current sources isactivated by the same capacitor control signal that controls thecorresponding fixed capacitor. Therefore, when a fixed capacitor isswitched-in to the LC circuit, the corresponding group of unit currentsources is simultaneously activated and switched-in to the cell tocompensate for the variable VCO gain that is caused by the fixedcapacitor.

An advantage of the gain compensator invention is that the number ofunit current sources that are activated for a corresponding fixedcapacitor is arbitrary, but the current produced is linearlyproportional to the reference scale current. In other words, there is nopredefined relationship between the number of unit current sources ineach group that would restrict the relative amount of current producedby each group. Therefore, the total pump current can be freely optimizedto incrementally adjust for the variable VCO gain that is associatedwith various combinations of fixed capacitors.

A further advantage of the gain compensator invention is that thereference scale current for the gain compensator cells is generatedbased on a PLL control signal. The PLL control signal specifics variousPLL characteristics, such as the frequency of the reference signal, thePLL bandwidth, and the PLL damping factor, etc. Since the unit currentsources are configured to replicate the reference scale current, all ofthe unit current sources can be simultaneously adjusted by changing thereference scale current. Therefore, the charge pump current can beefficiently adjusted to tune the mentioned characteristics of PLL fordifferent operating conditions, without requiring the replacement of PLLcomponents.

Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as thestructure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention,are described in detail below with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

The present invention is described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical orfunctionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of areference number identifies the drawing in which the reference numberfirst appears.

FIG. 1A illustrates a tuner 100 that is an example tuner environment forthe present invention;

FIG. 1B illustrates dual frequency conversion that is performed by thetuner 100;

FIG. 2 illustrates a PLL 200 that can be used with the tuner 100;

FIG. 3 illustrates a VCO 300 that can be used with the PLL 200;

FIG. 4 illustrates variable VCO gain;

FIG. 5 illustrates a PLL 500 that includes a gain compensator 502,according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a ROMDAC 600 that is one embodiment of a gaincompensator, according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a ROMDAC 700 having an expanded look-up table 701,according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a gain compensator 800 having a current scaler 804that forms a current mirror configuration with one or more gaincompensator cells 806, according to embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a gain compensator cell 806 having multiple unitcurrent sources, according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates the current scaler 804, according to embodiments ofthe present invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart 1100 that describes the operation of aPLL having compensation for nonlinear VCO gain, according to embodimentsof the present invention; and

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart 1200 that describes the operation of again compensator cell, according to embodiments of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

1. Example Tuner Application

Before describing the invention in detail, it is useful to describe anexample tuner application for the invention. The invention is notlimited to the tuner application that is described here, and isapplicable to other tuner and non-tuner applications as will beunderstood to those skilled in the relevant arts based on thediscussions given herein.

FIG. 1A illustrates a schematic of a tuner assembly 100 that has an RFautomatic gain control circuit (AGC) 102, and a tuner 134. The tunerassembly 100 receives an RF input signal 101 having multiple channelsand down-converts a selected channel to an IF frequency, to produce anIF signal 133. For instance, the RF input signal 101 can includemultiple TV channels that typically have 6 MHZ frequency spacings andcover a range of 57–860 MHZ, and where the selected channel isdown-converted to an IF frequency at 44 MHZ, 36 MHZ or some otherdesired IF frequency for further processing. The structure and operationof the AGC circuit 102 and the tuner 134 are described in further detailbelow.

The AGC circuit 102 provides automatic gain control using a variableresistor 104 and a low noise amplifier (LNA) 106. The variable resistor104 attenuates the RF input signal 101 according to a control signal103. In embodiments, the control signal 103 is based on the signalamplitude of the IF signal 133 so that the RF front-end gain can beadjusted to achieve a desired amplitude for the IF signal 133. The LNA106 provides low noise amplification and converts a single-ended inputsignal to a differential RF signal 107.

The tuner 134 has a dual conversion architecture (one up-conversion, onedown-conversion) that includes an input mixer 108 and an image rejectmixer 118. The input mixer 108 is driven by a first phase locked loop(PLL) 110 that has coarse tuning capability from 1270–2080 MHz. Theimage reject mixer 118 has two component mixers 120 a and 120 b that aredriven in quadrature by a second PLL 124 through a quadrature polyphasefilter 122. The PLL 124 has a relatively fixed frequency of 1176 MHZ(for a 44 MHZ IF) and has fine frequency tuning capability. A polyphasefilter 126 is coupled to the output of the image reject mixer 118 tocombine the quadrature outputs of the mixers 120. Two separate off-chipsurface acoustic wave (SAW) filters 114 and 130 are used to perform IFfiltering in the tuner 134. The first SAW filter 114 is connectedbetween the first mixer 108 and the image reject mixer 118. The passbandof the SAW filter 114 is centered at 1220 MHZ, and is only a fewchannels wide (e.g. 1–3 channels wide or 18 MHZ for 6 MHZ TV channelspacings). The second SAW filter 130 has a passband at 44 MHZ and iscoupled to the output of the polyphase filter 126. Additionally, variouson-chip amplifiers 108, 116, 128, and 132 are included throughout thetuner 134 to provide signal amplification, as necessary.

The operation of the tuner 134 is described as follows and in referenceto the frequency spectrum that is illustrated in FIG. 1B. The firstmixer 108 mixes the RF signal 107 with a LO signal 109 that is generatedby the PLL 110. Since the PLL 110 is tunable from 1270–2080 MHZ, the RFsignal 107 is up-converted to a first IF 111 having a frequency that isabove the 57–860 MHZ input frequency band. The first IF 111 is sentoff-chip to the SAW filter 114, which has a narrow passband windowcentered at 1220 MHz. The first SAW filter 114 selects a desired channel115 that is within its narrow passband window, and substantially rejectsall of the remaining channels. Therefore, a particular channel isselected by varying the frequency of the LO signal 109 so that thedesired channel is up-converted into the narrow passband of the IFfilter 114. The desired channel 115 (at 1220 MHZ) is sent back on-chipto the image reject mixer 118 that is driven by a quadrature LO signal119 from the polyphase filter 122. The image reject mixer 118down-converts the desired channel 115 to a 44 MHZ IF signal 127 thatappears at the output of the polyphase filter 126, where I and Qcomponents of the IF signal 127 are combined in the polyphase filter126. Finally, the IF signal 127 is filtered a second time by thebandpass SAW filter 130 to reject any unwanted frequency harmonics,producing the output IF signal 133 at 44 MHZ and carrying theinformation in the desired channel.

The specific frequencies mentioned in the description of the tunerassembly 100, and throughout this application, are given for examplepurposes only and are not meant to be limiting. Those skilled in thearts will recognize other frequency applications for the tuner assembly100 based on the discussion given herein. These other frequencyapplications are within the scope and spirit of the present invention.

2. Phase Lock Loop:

The first PLL 110 and the second PLL 124 are represented by the PLL 200that is illustrated in FIG. 2. The PLL 200 generates a PLL output signal227 that is a frequency multiple of a reference signal 201, and wherethe output signal 227 is phase-locked to the reference signal 201. ThePLL 200 self-corrects for any phase (and therefore frequency) variationsbetween the reference signal 201 and the output signal 227 via afeedback mechanism that is described as follows. The structure andoperation of the PLL 200 are described as follows.

The PLL 200 structure includes: a phase detector 202, a charge pump 204,a frequency divider 206, a loop filter 208, a coarse tuning circuit 214,a VCO assembly 222, and a LC resonant circuit 228. The loop filter 208includes a variable resistor 210 and a variable capacitor 212 that arecontrolled by an I²C signal 207. The coarse tuning circuit 214 includesa comparator 216 and a shift register 218. The VCO assembly 222 includesmultiple component VCOs 226 a–c, where each VCO 226 preferably covers aparticular frequency band A VCO 226 is switched-in to the PLL 200 byclosing a corresponding switch 224. The switches 224 a–c are controlledby corresponding control signals 223 a–c that make-up a VCO control bus220. The LC resonant circuit 228 is connected in parallel with the VCOassembly 222 and includes: multiple fixed capacitors 232 a–n havingcorresponding switches 230 a–n, a varactor 234, and an inductor 236. Oneor more of the fixed capacitors 232 are switched in-parallel with theselected VCO 226 by closing the corresponding switch(s) 230. Theswitches 230 are controlled by corresponding control signals 239 a–nthat make-up a capacitor control bus 238.

Each VCO 226 is a resonant tuned oscillator whose oscillation frequencyis controlled by the resonant frequency of the parallel LC circuit 228.The resonant frequency of the LC circuit 228 is determined by therelative total capacitance and inductance according to the equation:f ₀=(½π)·1/sqrt(LC)  Eq. 1

As discussed further below, coarse frequency tuning (e.g.band-selection) of the selected VCO 226 is performed by switching in oneor more of the fixed capacitors 232 into the LC circuit 228. Thischanges the resonant frequency of the LC circuit 228, and therefore theoscillation frequency of the selected VCO 226. Fine frequency tuning isperformed by changing the control voltage on the varactor 234, which hasa variable capacitance that changes with applied voltage. The VCO gainis defined as the change in the VCO output frequency per unit change inthe voltage across the varactor 234.

The PLL 200 operates based on known PLL feedback principles. A VCO 226is selected based on the desired frequency of operation for the PLL 200,and is switched-in to the PLL 200 by closing the appropriate switch 224using the appropriate control signal 223. The PLL output signal 227 fromthe selected VCO 226 is fed back to a phase detector 202 through thefrequency divider 206. The frequency divider 206 normalizes thefrequency of the output signal 227 to that of the reference signal 201for comparison in the phase detector 202. The phase detector 202compares the phase of the output signal 227 to the reference signal 201,and generates a DC error signal 203 that represents the phase differencebetween the two signals. The charge pump 204 receives the error signal203 and a reference pump current 205. The charge pump 204 sources (orsinks) a percentage of the pump current 205 based on the error signal203, as will be understood by those skilled in the arts. The outputcurrent of the charge pump 204 drives the loop filter 208 to produce atuning voltage 209. Part of the tuning voltage 209 is dropped across thevariable capacitor 212 to generate a tuning voltage 211. As discussedfurther below, the tuning voltages 209 and 211 control the oscillationfrequency of the selected VCO 226.

The tuning voltages 209 and 211 adjust the resonant frequency of the LCcircuit 228 (and therefore the oscillation frequency of the selected VCO226) via a coarse tuning mechanism and a fine tuning mechanism,respectively. More specifically, the coarse tuning circuit 214 adds (orsubtracts) one or more of the fixed capacitors 232 a–n to the LC circuit228 based on the tuning voltage 211. Similarly, the tuning voltage 209directly adjusts the voltage (and therefore the capacitance) of thevaractor 234 to implement fine frequency tuning. Both tuning mechanismsadjust the oscillation frequency of the VCO 226 by changing thecapacitance of the LC circuit 228, which shifts the resonant frequencyof the LC circuit 228. The tuning range of the varactor 234 is slightlylarger than one fixed capacitor 232, and therefore provides some tuningoverlap between the fixed capacitors 232. The coarse tuning circuit 214is described further below.

The coarse tuning circuit 214 includes a window comparator 216 and abi-directional shift register 218. The window comparator 216 receivesthe tuning voltage 211 and also receives input reference voltages v₁ andv₂. The window comparator 216 determines if the voltage 211 is within avoltage “window” that is defined between the input references voltagesv₁ and v₂, and generates a control signal 217 that controls thebi-directional shift register 218 based on this determination. The shiftregister 218 stores a series of bits that control the capacitor switches230 via the control bus 238 to add (or subtract) the correspondingcapacitors 232 to (or from) the LC circuit 228. A “1” bit on the controlline 239 causes the corresponding switch 230 to close and thereby addsthe corresponding capacitor 232 to the LC circuit 228. A “0” bit on thecontrol line 239 causes the switch 230 to open and thereby subtracts thecorresponding capacitor 232 from the LC circuit 228.

The coarse tuning circuit 214 operates to self-correct coarse variationsin the oscillation frequency of the selected VCO 226 by adding orsubtracting capacitors 232, based on the tuning voltage 211. If thecomparator 216 determines that the voltage 211 is below v₁, then thecomparator 216 causes a series of “1”s to be shifted through the shiftregister 218, which incrementally adds capacitors 232 to the LC circuit228 until the tuning voltage 211 is within the v₁-to-v₂ voltage window.If the comparator 216 determines that the voltage 211 is above thevoltage v₂, then the comparator 216 causes a series of “0”s to beshifted through the shift register 218, which incrementally subtractscapacitors 232 from the LC circuit 228 until the tuning voltage 211 iswithin the v₁-to-v₂ voltage window. As described above, the frequency ofthe selected oscillator 226 changes whenever capacitance is added to, orsubtracted from, the LC circuit 228. If the comparator 216 determinesthat the voltage 211 is within the voltage window defined by v₁ and v₂,then no action is taken and the fixed capacitance in the LC circuit 228remains unchanged. In other words, the tuning voltage 211 is within anacceptable voltage range (or “window”), and correspondingly, thefrequency of the output signal 227 is within an acceptable frequencyrange. Therefore the number of the fixed capacitors 232 that areswitched-in to the LC circuit 228 is not changed.

3. Example VCO Configuration

FIG. 3 illustrates a differential VCO 300 as one embodiment of VCO 226and the LC resonant circuit 228. The VCO 300 is meant for examplepurposes only and is not meant to limit the invention in any way. Otheroscillator configurations could be utilized to practice the invention,as will be understood by those skilled in the relevant arts based on thediscussions given herein.

The VCO 300 includes the active VCO portion 226 and the resonant LCcircuit 228. The active portion includes a pair of cross coupledtransistors 302 a and 302 b that oscillate at the resonant frequency ofLC circuit 228. In this cross-coupled configuration, the drain oftransistor 302 a is connected to the gate of transistor 302 b. Likewise,the drain of transistor 302 b is connected to the gate of the transistor302 a. The LC circuit 228 is also coupled to the drains of thetransistors 302. At resonance, the LC circuit 228 causes a positivefeedback path between the cross-coupled transistors 302, which causesthe transistors to oscillate at the resonant frequency of the LC circuit228, producing the differential output signal 227.

The oscillation frequency of the VCO 300 can be tuned by two mechanisms.Coarse frequency tuning (or band selection) is performed by adding orsubtracting the fixed capacitors 232 using the corresponding switches230. Fine frequency tuning is performed by the tuning voltage 209, whichvaries the capacitance produced by the series-connected varactor diodes234 a and 234 b that are attached to the drains of the transistors 302.The frequency change of VCO 300 per unit change in varactor 234 voltageis defined as the VCO gain. As stated above, the tuning range of thevaractor 234 is slightly larger than the capacitance of one fixedcapacitor 232, and therefore provides some tuning overlap between thefixed capacitors 232.

In one embodiment, the varactors 234 are PN junction varactors, and inan alternate embodiment these varactors 234 are MOSFET varactors,depending on the designer's preference.

4. PLL Gain Compensation

PLL gain is defined as the frequency change of the output signal versesthe phase difference between the feedback signal and the referencesignal. The forward PLL gain is determined as follows:G(s)=K _(PHI)·(R _(LF)+1/sC _(LF))·K _(VCO) /s;  Eq. 2where:

-   K_(PHI)=Phase detector gain (mA/radian)-   R_(LF)=Loop filter resistance-   C_(LF)=Loop filter capacitance-   K_(VCO)=VCO gain (MHZ/volt)-   s represents frequency    The feedback PLL gain H(s)=1/N, where N is the feedback frequency    division ratio. The overall open loop gain is G(s)H(s), and the    overall closed-loop gain is G(s)/[1+G(s)H(s)].

As described above, the PLL 200 performs coarse frequency turning byincrementally adding (or subtracting) one or more of the fixedcapacitors 232 that are in-parallel with the selected VCO 226. Finefrequency tuning is performed by adjusting the voltage on the varactor234, where the VCO gain is defined as the frequency shift per unitchange in the tuning voltage 209. A problem with varactor-tuned VCOs isthat the VCO gain verses the fixed capacitance 232 is variable. FIG.4illustrates this characteristic with a graph of VCO gain 402 versesfixed capacitance. As shown, the VCO gain curve 402 is reduced for alarge fixed capacitance and is increased for a small fixed capacitance.Variable VCO gain is undesirable because it causes the PLL forward gainto change according to Eq. 2. In VCO applications with a largeminimum-to-maximum capacitance tuning range, this VCO gain variabilitycan cause loop instability, and reduced spectral purity in the PLLoutput signal. In a preferred embodiment, the VCO gain variability iscompensated for by a compensator gain 404 so that-the overall PLL gain406 remains relatively flat for variations in fixed capacitance (andtherefore VCO frequency). More specifically, the charge pump current 205is compensated to counter the variable VCO gain so that the overall PLLgain is flat.

FIG. 5 illustrates a PLL 500 that has a gain compensator 502 to adjustthe charge pump current 205 in order to linearize (and flatten) theoverall PLL gain of the PLL 500. The gain compensator 502 generates thepump current 205 based on the control information carried by the VCOcontrol bus 220 and the capacitor control bus 238. As discussed above,the VCO control bus 220 selects the appropriate VCO 226 based on thedesired frequency range for the PLL output signal 227. The capacitorcontrol bus 238 selects the fixed capacitors 232 that are switched-inparallel with the selected VCO 226 for coarse frequency tuning of theVCO 226. Therefore, the gain compensator 502 can tailor the referencepump current 205 for a specified VCO 226 at a specified fixedcapacitance 232 value, and thereby compensate for the variable VCO gainvs. fixed capacitance.

FIG. 6 illustrates a read only memory digital-to-analog converter(ROMDAC) 600 that is one example embodiment of the gain compensator 502,according to embodiments of the invention. Referring to FIG.6, theROMDAC 600 includes a look-up table 602 and a current digital-to-analogconverter 610. The lookup table 602 stores pump current values 604 a–nthat are indexed by the selected VCO 226 and a fixed capacitance total606, where the fixed capacitance total 606 is the parallel sum of thecapacitors 232 that are switched-in to the LC circuit 228. The pumpcurrent values 604 are selected to compensate for the variable VCO gainvs. capacitance, given an identified VCO 226 and the fixed capacitancetotal 606. Preferably, the PLL 200 is characterized beforehand for eachVCO 226 to determine the pump current values 604 that produces a flatoverall PLL gain for various capacitance totals 606. The look-up table602 outputs a pump current value 608 that corresponds to identified VCO226 and the fixed capacitance total 606. The DAC 610 converts the pumpcurrent value 608 to the actual analog pump current 205 that drives thecharge pump 204. As capacitors 232 are added to or subtracted from theLC circuit 228, the lookup table 602 selects the appropriate pumpcurrent value 604 so as to maintain a flat overall PLL gain. Therefore,the pump current 205 is adjusted for various total capacitance 606 tocounteract the variable gain of the selected VCO 226, and therebyflatten the overall gain of the PLL 500.

An advantage of the ROMDAC 600 is that the pump current values 604 canbe totally arbitrary and mathematically unrelated to each other. Inother words, the pump currents 604 can be individually selected toproduce an optimum overall PLL gain for a given VCO 226 and capacitancetotal 606, without being restricted by any mathematical relationship. Inan alternate embodiment, the various pump currents 604 aremathematically related to each other, or to the VCO control signal 220or the capacitor control signal 238.

In addition to PLL gain, it is desirable to tune various other PLLcharacteristics, such input reference frequency, loop bandwidth, dampingfactor, etc. This allows the same PLL to be used in different operatingenvironments. For instance, it is often desirable to have a PLLconfiguration that is operable with a number of different referencefrequencies. If the frequency of the reference signal 201 increases byfactor of two, the PLL loop gain should preferably be adjusted tocompensate for this increase so that the PLL loop remains stable andaccurate. The PLL loop gain can be appropriately adjusted by reducingthe frequency division of the frequency divider 206 by a factor of two.However, this would require replacement of the frequency divider 206 foreach possible reference frequency, or the use of a programmablefrequency divider. Alternatively, the charge pump current could bereduced by a factor of two to get the same effect.

FIG. 7 illustrates a ROMDAC 700 as another embodiment of the gaincompensator 502, according to embodiments of the present invention. TheROMDAC 700 has an expanded lookup table 701 that has multiple sets 710a–d of pump current values, where the sets 710 tune various PLLcharacteristics in addition to compensating for variable VCO gain. SomePLL characteristics include, but are not limited to, PLL referencesignal frequency, loop bandwidth, loop damping, etc. For example, sets710 a and 710 b have pump current values 702 a–n and 704 a–n,respectively, which are customized for different reference frequencies.The pump current values 702 a–n can correspond to a first referencesignal 201 frequency, and the pump current values 704 a–n can correspondto a second reference signal 201 frequency. Therefore, if the frequencyof the reference signal 201 changes, then the pump current value 608 canbe selected from the appropriate pump current set 710. In anotherexample, the pump current sets 710 c and 710 d are customized tomaintain loop bandwidth for different loop damping factors. The loopdamping factor is increased or decreased by adjusting the variableresistor 210 in the loop filter 208, which also determines the loopbandwidth. If the damping factor is changed, then the loop bandwidth canbe held constant by selecting the appropriate set 710 c or 710 d thatadjusts the charge pump current 205 to sufficiently counter the effecton the loop bandwidth.

To summarize, by storing multiple sets 710 of charge pump values in thelookup table 701, multiple PLL characteristics can be adjusted or tunedin addition to PLL gain. This allows the same PLL 500 to be used underdifferent PLL operating conditions, without replacing PLL components.The number of pump current sets 710 can be expanded to adjust any numberof PLL characteristics, assuming there is sufficient memory space in thelook-up table 701.

FIG. 8 illustrates a gain compensator 800 that is another embodiment ofthe gain compensator 502 in FIG. 5. The gain compensator 800 includes: avoltage generator 801, gain compensator cells 806 a–c that correspond toVCOs 226 a–c, and PFETs 808 a–c that correspond to the gain compensatorcells 806 a–c. Each gain compensator cell 806 generates a prospectivepump current 807 that compensates for the variable VCO gain of itscorresponding VCO 226 caused by the fixed capacitors 232. Since only oneVCO 226 is operational at a given time, only one prospective pumpcurrent 807 becomes the actual pump current 205 that feeds the chargepump 204. The PFETs 808 operate as switches that are controlled by theVCO control signals 239 and select the appropriate prospective pumpcurrent 807 to correspond with the selected VCO 226. For example, if theVCO 226 a is the selected VCO 226, then the control signal 239 a causesthe PFET 808 a to conduct so that the current 807 a becomes the feed forthe pump current 205. Accordingly, control signals 239 b and 239 ccutoff their respective PFETs 808 b and 808 c, and therefore only thecurrent 807 a feeds the pump current 205.

The structure of the gain compensator cell 806 is shown in FIG. 9 andincludes: switches 902 a–d that are controlled by the respectivecapacitor control signals 239 a–d, and unit current sources 906 a–j thatare arranged in groups 904 a–d. Preferably, each unit current source 906generates substantially the same amount of unit current (withintransistor tolerances), where the amount of unit current is based on agate voltage 805 that is generated by the voltage generate 801. Eachgroup 904 corresponds to a capacitor 232, and generates a portion of thetotal pump current 205 when the respective capacitor 232 is switched-into the LC circuit 228. The number of unit current sources 906 in eachgroup 904 is selected to compensate for the variable VCO gain thatoccurs when the corresponding capacitor 232 is switched-in to the LCcircuit 228. For example, group 904 a corresponds to capacitor 232 a,and has 4 unit current sources 906 to compensate for variable VCO gainthat is caused by the capacitor 232 a. Whereas, group 904 b only has 2unit current sources 906 to address the variable VCO gain caused by thecapacitor 232 b, and so on. Note that the number of current sources4,2,3,1 that are shown in FIG. 9 for the groups 902 a–d are forillustration purposes only, and is not meant to be limiting.Furthermore, the number of groups 904, namely 4 as shown, is not meantto be limiting. In embodiments of the invention, the number of groups904 should be less than or equal to the number of fixed capacitors 232.

A group 904 is switched into the gain compensator cell 806 when thecorresponding switch 902 connects Vg 805 to the unit current sources 906in the group 904. Once connected to a group 904, the Vg 805 activatesthe current sources 906 and determines the current produced by eachcurrent source 906. The switches 902 are controlled by the samecapacitor control signals 239 that switches-in the respective capacitors232 into the LC circuit 228. Therefore, when a capacitor 232 isswitched-in to the LC circuit 228, the corresponding group 904 will beswitched-in to the gain compensator cell 806, and therefore contributeto the prospective pump current 807. For instance, if the capacitor 232a is switched-in to the LC circuit 228 by the capacitor control signal23 9 a, then the group 904 a of unit current sources 906 will beswitched-in to the gain compensator cell 806 by the same control signal239 a Therefore, the current from the group 904 a will contribute to theprospective pump current 807, and thereby compensate for the variableVCO gain that is caused by the capacitor 232 a. If the capacitor 232 bis then switched-in to the LC circuit 228, then the group 904 b isswitched-in to the gain compensator cell 806 to compensate for thevariable VCO gain that is caused by the capacitor 232 b. As such, thecharge pump current 205 is simultaneously adjusted to maintain a flatoverall PLL as the capacitors 232 are incrementally added to (orsubtracted from) the LC circuit 228.

Each unit current source 906 is preferably a PFET transistor, as shown.However, other transistor devices and configurations could be used forthe unit current sources 906, including N-FET transistors, as will beunderstood by those skilled in the relevant arts based on thediscussions given herein. These other transistor devices andconfigurations are within the scope and spirit of the present invention.For example, simultaneous use of NFET and PFET current sources wouldpermit the gain compensator to compensate for a non-monotonic VCO gainverses fixed capacitance characteristic.

The voltage generator 801 and the current sources 906 operate as a“current mirror”, where the drain currents of the selected unit currentsources 906 copy or “mirror” a reference scale current 812. Morespecifically, the current scaler 804 sets the reference scale current812, which operates as a current sink for the PFET 802. The PFET 802operates as a diode because the gate and drain of the PFET 802 areshorted together by a conductor 813. The drain current 814 of the PFET802 is substantially the same as the reference scale current 812 becausethere is substantially zero current on the conductor 813. Thediode-connected PFET 802 generates the gate voltage 805 at its gateterminal to correspond with the drain current 814, and therefore to thereference scale current 812. If the drain current 814 deviates from thereference scale current 812 for some reason, then charge flows to/fromthe gate of the PFET 802 to bring the current 814 and the scale current812 back in-line with each other. The gate voltage 805 is applied to thegate of the current sources 906 when their respective group 904 isselected by the capacitor control signals 239. The current sources 906will reproduce (or “mirror”) the drain current 814 due to the commongate voltage 805, if the device characteristics of the current sources906 are sufficiently similar to those of the PFET 802. This currentmirror effect occurs because two or more FETs that have a commongate-to-source voltage and similar device characteristics will generatesubstantially the same drain current. If a group 904 is not switched-inby the corresponding capacitor control signal 239 (because thecorresponding capacitor 232 is not switched in the LC circuit 228), thenthe gates of the corresponding current sources 906 are connected to Vccby the corresponding switch 902. When connected to Vcc, thesenon-selected current sources 906 are cutoff and do not generate a unitcurrent.

Preferably, the PFET 802 and the current sources 906 are fabricated onthe same semiconductor wafer using the same process, which improves thecommonality of device characteristics. However, if the size of the unitcurrent sources 906 is scaled relative to the size of the PFET 802, thenthe unit current sources 906 will generate a current that isproportional to the scale factor, as will be understood by those skilledin the relevant arts. This increases the flexibility of the gaincompensator cell 806, as the current sources 906 can be scaled relativeto the PFET 802 as well as relative to each other.

The current scaler 804 sets the reference scale current 812 based on aPLL control signal 810, where the PLL control signal 810 dictatesvarious PLL characteristics such as the frequency of the referencesignal 201, the PLL loop bandwidth, and PLL loop damping, etc. FIG. 10illustrates one embodiment of the current scaler 804 and includesweighted current sources 1002 a–n. The weighted current sources 1002 a–nsink currents 1004 a–n based the PLL variables in the PLL control signal810. For example, the current source 1002 a can be adapted to generate acurrent 1004 a that is proportional to the frequency of the referencesignal 201, and the current source 1002 b can be adapted to generate acurrent 1004 b that is proportional to the desired loop bandwidth, etc.The currents 1004 a–n are summed together to form the reference scalecurrent 812 that feeds the diode-connected PFET 802. Therefore, changesin the PLL variables are reflected in the reference scale current 812,and ultimately in the drain currents of the unit current sources 906because of the current mirror effect described herein. Morespecifically, the PFET drain current 814 is substantially the same asthe reference scale current 812, and gets copied to the drain currentsof the unit current sources 906.

An advantage of using the current scaler 800 is that all of the currentsources 906 (that are in a selected group 904) are simultaneouslyadjusted for changing PLL characteristics, in addition to compensatingfor variable VCO gain. Therefore, the prospective pump current 807 (andultimately the final pump current 205) can be efficiently tuned tocompensate for changing PLL characteristics. This allows the same PLL tobe utilized under different operating conditions. Furthermore, thecurrent scaler 804 reduces the size of the overall gain compensatorbecause multiple sets of current sources 906 are not needed to addresschanging PLL characteristics. In contrast, the ROMDAC 700 requiresmultiple sets 710 of current values to address changing PLLcharacteristics, which increases the size of the ROMDAC 700.

The following examples illustrate the flexibility of the PLL 500 whenusing the current scaler 804 to adjust for changing PLL characteristics(besides VCO gain). In a first example, the frequency of the referencesignal 201 increases by a factor of two, but the frequency divider 206ratio is to remain constant. The same the frequency divider 206 can beused in the PLL 500 if the charge pump current 205 is reduced byapproximately a factor of two. This is accomplished by reducing thereference scale current 812 that is generated by the current scaler 804,causing a corresponding reduction in the gate voltage 805. Through thecurrent mirror effect, the current produced by the selected currentsources 906 will be proportionally reduced by a factor of two.Therefore, the prospective current 807 (and the pump 205) will also bereduced by a factor of two as desired, and the same PLL 500 can bereused for the new reference frequency.

In a second example, the PLL damping factor ζ is to be increased, butthe PLL bandwidth is to be held constant. The PLL damping factor ζ isincreased by increasing the resistance of the variable resistor 210 inthe loop filter 208. However, this also changes the loop bandwidth aswill be understood by those skilled in the arts. To compensate, thecurrent scaler 804 adjusts the reference scale current 812, andtherefore the unit current sources 906 to produce a reference pumpcurrent 205 that compensates for the loop bandwidth.

In summary, and based on the examples herein, the gain compensator 800is able to compensate for variable VCO gain and simultaneously tuneother PLL characteristics by using the current mirror configurationdescribed herein. These other PLL characteristics include but are notlimited to changes in reference frequency, damping factor, andbandwidth.

The flowchart 1100 further describes the operation of the gaincompensator 800 and VCO gain compensation according to embodiments ofthe present invention. The order of the steps in the flowchart 1100 isnot limiting as all or some of the steps can be performed simultaneouslyor in a different order, as will be understood by those skilled in thearts.

In step 1102, a VCO 226 is selected from the VCO 226 a–c based on thedesired frequency of the output signal 227. The selection is made byclosing the appropriate switch 230 using the control signals 239 toswitch-in the desired VCO 226.

In step 1104, the VCO output signal 227 is fed back to the phasedetector 202 through a frequency divider 206. The frequency divider 206normalizes the frequency of the output signal 227 to that of thereference signal 201 for comparison in the phase detector 202.

In step 1106, the phase detector 202 compares the phase of the outputsignal 227 to the reference signal 201, and generates a DC error signal203 that represents the phase difference between the two signals.

In step 1108, the charge pump 204 sources or sinks a percentage of areference pump current 205 based the error signal 203.

In step 1110, the output current from the charge pump 204 drives theloop filter 208 to produce a tuning voltage 209.

In step 1112, one or more fixed capacitors 232 are switched-in to (orswitched-out of ) the LC resonant circuit 228 based on the tuningvoltage 209, to perform coarse frequency tuning of the selected VCO 226.The fixed capacitors 232 perform coarse frequency tuning by shifting theresonant frequency of the LC circuit 228, and therefore the selected VCO226. The fixed capacitors 232 are switched-in to (or switched-out of)the LC circuit 228 by switching the corresponding switches 230 using thecontrol signals 239.

In step 1114, the gain compensator 800 adjusts the charge pump referencecurrent 205 to compensate for variable VCO gain that is caused by addingor subtracting the fixed capacitors 232. The reference current 205 isadjusted based on the VCO control signals 239 and also the capacitorcontrol signals 239. In embodiments, the reference current 205 isadjusted simultaneously with the switching of the fixed capacitors 232by the capacitor control signals 239.

In step 1116, the tuning voltage 209 fine tunes the frequency of theselected VCO 226 by changing voltage across the varactor 234. The VCOgain vs. fixed capacitance is substantially linearized by the gaincompensator 800 in step 1114, thereby flattening the PLL gain andimproving the PLL spectral purity.

Flowchart 1200 further describes step 1114, where the gain compensator800 adjusts the charge pump current to compensate for variable VCO gain.The order of the steps in the flowchart 1200 is not limiting as all orsome of the steps can be performed simultaneously or in a differentorder, as will be understood by those skilled in the arts.

In step 1202, the gain compensator 800 receives the VCO control signals239 and the capacitor control signals 239. The VCO control signals 239determine which VCO 226 is switched-in to the PLL 500. The capacitorcontrol signals 239 determine which fixed capacitors 232 are switched-into the LC circuit 228.

In step 1204, a gain compensator cell 806 is selected to correspond tothe VCO 226 that is switched-in to the PLL 500, as indicated by the VCOcontrol signals 239. More specifically, the control signals 239 turn-onthe appropriate P-FET 808 for the gain compensator cell 806 thatcorresponds to the selected VCO 226.

In step 1206, the current scaler 804 generates a reference scale current812 that is based on a PLL control signal 810, where the PLL controlsignal 810 defines certain PLL characteristics including referencefrequency, loop bandwidth, and damping factor.

In step 1208, the switches 902 activate one or more groups 904 of unitcurrent sources 906 according to the capacitor control signals 239. Thegroups 904 that are activated correspond to the capacitors 232 that areswitched-in to the LC circuit 228, as indicated by the capacitor controlsignals 239. The remaining (non-selected) current sources 906 arecutoff.

In step 1210, the activated groups 904 replicate (or copy) the referencescale current 812 one or more times, where the number of times that thereference scale current 812 is replicated is dependent on the capacitors232 that are switched-in to the LC circuit 228. More specifically, theactivated groups 904 replicate the reference scale current enough timesto sufficiently compensate the variable VCO gain that is caused by thecorresponding capacitors 232.

In step 1212, the currents from the activated current sources 906 areadded together to generate the charge pump reference current 205.

In step 1214, the current scaler 804 adjusts the reference scale current812 to address changing PLL characteristics, such as referencefrequency, loop bandwidth, and damping factor. By adjusting thereference scale current 812, all of the replicated currents in step 1210are simultaneously adjusted to address the changing PLL characteristics.

5. Other Applications

The gain compensation invention described herein has been discussed inreference to a tuner application. However, the gain compensationinvention is not limited to tuners, and is applicable to other non-tunerapplications that can benefit from flat PLL gain. Additionally, the gaincompensation invention is applicable to other non-PLL circuits that canbenefit from compensating for variable VCO gain. The application of thegain compensation invention to these non-PLL circuits will be understoodby those skilled in the relevant arts based on the discussions givenherein, and are within the scope and spirit of the present invention.

6. Conclusion

Example embodiments of the methods, systems, and components of thepresent invention have been described herein. As noted elsewhere, theseexample embodiments have been described for illustrative purposes only,and are not limiting. Other embodiments are possible and are covered bythe invention. Such other embodiments will be apparent to personsskilled in the relevant art(s) based on the teachings contained herein.Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not belimited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but shouldbe defined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

1. A method of adjusting a signal frequency of a voltage controlledoscillator (VCO) in a radio frequency (RF) device, comprising: selectingan oscillator of a plurality of oscillators within the VCO; selecting again cell of a plurality of gain cells based on the selected oscillator,the selected gain cell contributing to a charge pump current; inputtinga first signal that is a function of a reference signal; inputting asecond signal that is a function of a VCO signal; comparing the firstsignal and the second signal; selectively switching one or morecapacitors into or out of an LC circuit that is operatively coupled tothe VCO, the selective switching being based on the comparison of thefirst signal and the second signal; and selectively activating a groupof a plurality of groups of current sources within the selected gaincell based on the selectively switched one or more capacitors, theselectively activated group contributing to the charge pump current. 2.The method according to claim 1, wherein the LC circuit comprises aplurality of capacitors in a parallel configuration.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 2, wherein the plurality of capacitors areoperatively coupled to a plurality of switches, each capacitor beingoperatively coupled to a respective switch, and wherein the respectiveswitch switches the corresponding capacitor into or out of the LCcircuit.
 4. The method according to claim 3, comprising: controlling theplurality of switches using a digital control signal.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the VCO comprises a first transistor and asecond transistor, wherein an output of the first transistor isoperatively coupled to an input of the second transistor, and wherein anoutput of the second transistor is operatively coupled to an input ofthe first transistor.
 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the LCcircuit comprises a first diode and a second diode, wherein the firstdiode and the second diode are in series and are operatively coupledbetween the output of the first transistor and the output of the secondtransistor.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the first diodecomprises a first varactor diode, and wherein the second diode comprisesa second varactor diode.
 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein thefirst diode and the second diode are operatively coupled such that aforward-bias current path of the first diode is opposite in direction toa forward-bias current path of the second diode.
 9. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the VCO is part of a phase lock loop (PLL) circuit.10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the VCO signal is an outputsignal of the PLL circuit.
 11. The method according to claim 9, whereinthe PLL circuit comprises a window comparator.
 12. The method accordingto claim 9, wherein the PLL circuit comprises a frequency divider, aphase detector, a charge pump, a loop filter and the VCO.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 12, wherein the frequency divider is operativelycoupled to the phase detector, wherein the phase detector is operativelycoupled to the charge pump, wherein the charge pump is operativelycoupled to the loop filter, wherein the loop filter is operativelycoupled to the VCO, and wherein the VCO is operatively coupled to thefrequency divider.
 14. The method according to claim 9, comprising:keeping a gain of the PLL circuit relatively flat for variations inswitched capacitance.
 15. The method according to claim 9, comprising:keeping a gain of the PLL circuit relatively flat for variations in VCOgain.
 16. The method according to claim 9, comprising: keeping a gain ofthe PLL circuit relatively flat for variations in VCO operatingconditions.
 17. The method according to claim 1, comprising: adjusting afrequency of the VCO signal as a function of the selective switching ofthe one or more capacitors.
 18. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe VCO is used in a PLL circuit that is used in or with an RF receiver.19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the PLL circuit is used toprovide a downconversion signal to a mixer of the RF receiver.
 20. Themethod according to claim 18, wherein the PLL circuit is used to providean upconversion signal to a mixer of the RF receiver.
 21. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the VCO is used in a PLL circuit that isused in or with an RF transmitter.
 22. The method according to claim 20,wherein the PLL circuit is used to provide a frequency translationsignal in or to the RF transmitter.
 23. The method according to claim20, wherein the PLL circuit provides a local oscillator (LO) signal inor to the RF transmitter.
 24. A frequency synthesizer for use in a radiofrequency (RF) device, comprising: a frequency divider; a phase detectoroperatively coupled to the frequency divider; a charge pump operativelycoupled to the phase detector; a loop filter operatively coupled to thecharge pump; a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) operatively coupledto the loop filter and operatively coupled to the frequency divider, theVCO comprising a plurality of oscillators; and an LC circuit operativelycoupled to the VCO, wherein the LC circuit comprises a plurality ofcircuital branches in a parallel configuration, wherein at least some ofthe circuital branches each comprises a respective capacitor and acorresponding switch, wherein the corresponding switch switches therespective capacitor into or out of the LC circuit, wherein an outputsignal of the VCO is adjusted in frequency as a function of capacitancethat is switched into or out of the LC circuit, wherein an oscillator ofthe plurality of oscillators of the VCO is selected to select aparticular frequency band, wherein a gain cell of a plurality of gaincells is selected based on the selected oscillator, the selected gaincell contributing to a charge pump current for use by the charge pump,and wherein a group of a plurality of groups of current sources withinthe selected gain cell is selectively activated based on the switchedone or more respective capacitors, the selected group contributing tothe charge pump current.
 25. The frequency synthesizer according toclaim 24, wherein at least one of the circuital branches comprises twodiodes in a series configuration.
 26. The frequency synthesizeraccording to claim 25, wherein the two diodes are two varactor diodes.27. The frequency synthesizer according to claim 25, wherein the twodiodes are disposed in an opposing bias configuration.
 28. The frequencysynthesizer according to claim 24, wherein the LC circuit comprises aninductor operatively coupled to a voltage supply.
 29. The frequencysynthesizer according to claim 24, comprising: a window comparator. 30.The frequency synthesizer according to claim 24, wherein at least thephase detector, the charge pump, the loop filter and the VCO are part ofa phase lock loop (PLL) circuit.
 31. The frequency synthesizer accordingto claim 24, wherein a gain of the PLL circuit is kept relative flat forvariations in switched capacitance in the LC circuit.
 32. The frequencysynthesizer according to claim 24, wherein a gain of the PLL circuit iskept relatively flat for variations in VCO gain.
 33. The frequencysynthesizer according to claim 24, wherein a gain of the PLL circuit iskept relatively flat for variations in VCO operating conditions.
 34. Thefrequency synthesizer according to claim 24, wherein the switches aredigitally controlled.
 35. The frequency synthesizer according to claim24, wherein the VCO is part of a PLL circuit that is used in or with aradio frequency (RF) receiver.
 36. The frequency synthesizer accordingto claim 35, wherein the PLL circuit is used to provide a downconversionsignal to a mixer of the RF receiver.
 37. The frequency synthesizeraccording to claim 35, wherein the PLL circuit is used to provide anupconversion signal to a mixer of the RF receiver.
 38. The frequencysynthesizer according to claim 24, wherein the VCO is part of a PLLcircuit that is used in or with an RF transmitter.
 39. The frequencysynthesizer according to claim 38, wherein the PLL circuit is used toprovide a frequency translation signal in or to the RF transmitter. 40.The frequency synthesizer according to claim 38, wherein the PLL circuitprovides a local oscillator (LO) signal in or to the RF transmitter.